Insert for maternity garments



April 9, 1957 A. c. MlKoTTls INSERT FOR MATERNITY GARMENTS Filed April 22, s55

INVENTOR. M-'LO c M/AaTr/S ATT-ae/VEVS F/ca. 5

United States Patent INSERT FOR MATERNITY GARMENTS Amelda C. Mikottis, Mount Prospect, Il'.

Application April 22, 1955, Serial No. 503,126

1 Claim. (Cl. 2-221) This invention relates to maternity garments, and more particularly has reference to a resiliently stretchable insert in the front of a skirt, pair of slacks or shorts', or any other garment that extends across the abdomen.

Most usually, maternity garments of the type referred to have means for adjusting the waist size thereof, in the form of ties, snaps, buttons, or equivalent elements. Adjustment means of this type have the disadvantage that periodic adjustment is necessary as the pregnancy advances, the snaps, ties, or the like must be engaged or disengaged each time the garment is put on or taken olf, and, finally, discomfort results from binding of the waist band or other adjustment Imeans against the body.

Still further, adjustment means of the character referred to have the additional disadvantage that they tend to complicate the making of the garment, thereby increasing the cost thereof.

The present invention has for its main object the provision of an insert for any of various maternity garments that will be wholly free of the several deficiencies in conventional maternity garment construction noted above. To this end, my invention, summarized briefly, is a resiliently stretchable insert the stretching of which occurs mainly in a transverse direction, set into the front of the garment, and permanently stitched at its side and lower edges to the edges of a complementarily shaped recess formed in the front of the garment. The invention is characterized by the complete absence of ties, snaps, waist band, or any other devices hitherto used in maternity garments for the purpose of adjusting the waist size of the garment and securing the garment at the waist about the body of the wearer.

A further object of importance is to so design the insert as to permit it to be used for the full period of the pregnancy, without requiring any adjustment, the insert being such that it adjusts itself to the progressively increasing size of the abdomen.

Another object of importance is to provide an insert as described which, in addition to adjusting the waist size of the garment automatically to that of the wearer throughout the pregnancy, will even afford a certain amount of gentle support for the abdomen.

Still another object is to design the maternity garment having the mentioned insert in such a manner as to permit the wearer to dress or undress with measurably greater speed and ease than is possible in the use of maternity garments previously derived.

Other objects of importance are to design the garments so that if desired, they can be worn without a slip, will it snugly and hang properly throughout the entire period ofthe pregnancy, can be readily adapted for manufacture either from summer or winter weight materials, and will cover the full width of the front of the garment, so as to cover the entire abdominal expansion throughout the full period of the pregnancy.

Other objects will appear from the following description, the claim appended thereto, and from the annexed drawing, in which like reference characters designate like parts throughout the several views, and wherein:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of the garment as it appears when worn;

Figure 2 is an enlarged perspective view of the garment per se, the full lines showing the insert in its fully contracted position and the dotted Ilines showing the insert in .its expanded condition;

Figure 3 is an exploded perspective view showing the pieces used in the formation of a skirt having the insert; and

Figure 4 is a top plan View of the garment.

In the several figures of the drawing the maternity garment l@ has been illustrated as a skirt. However, at this point it should be noted that this is purely by way of example, and the invention is well adapted for use with any other type of maternity garment a portion of which extends across the abdomen and is used to cover the lower part of the body, as for example, a pair of slacks, shorts, and the like.

ln the illustrated example, the skirt .includes a back panel 12 and a front panel 14, The back panel extends the full length of the skirt, while the front panel terminates at its upper end a substantial distance below the upper end of the back panel.

The skirt can be of various types, but preferably a slim skirt pattern is used to increase the attractiveness of the garment when worn.

The insert has been generally designated at 16, and comprises a rectangular length of fabric 18, which as a first step is stitched crosswise, at uniform intervals from the upper to the lower edges of the piece, with rubber thread 20. Preferably, the intervals between the threads are one-half to three-fourths of an inch. At the opposite side edges of the insert panel 1S, the thread is backstitched.

The rubber thread, when in its normal contracted condition, forms in the fabric, at fairly uniform intervals over the full width thereof, small gathers 21. When the rubber thread is in its normally contracted condition, the overall width of the insert panel 18 is decreased, to such an extent as to cause the transversely contracted insert panel to be of a width slightly 'less than that of the front panel i4 of the garment. lt may be noted that in the illustrated example, the front panel 14 is a single piece of material, having no center seams, but of course this can be varied to form the front panel, and for that matter the back panel, of a plurality of pieces of material, connected by a center front seam and center back seam respectively. The front and back panels are formed separately, prior to connection of the insert panel thereto and prior to connection to the front and back panels to one another, with the center front and back seams, if any, being first sewn. Further, the skirt back darts will at this stage be formed, as well as a hem 23 at the waist line of the back panel.

The insert is now stitched in place, in the manner shown in Figures 2 and 4. The insert may be stretched slightly to extend the full width of the skirt front, so that it will tit comfortably and yet snugly even in the earlier stages of the pregnancy. The side seams, at the opposite side edges of the insert, are stitched in the usual. manner. A narrow hem is sumcient to finish the edge, it being understood that care should be taken to have the insert stretched out completely while stitching the hem. The stitching connecting the lower edge of the insert to the upper end of the front panel 14 has been designated at 22, while the stitching at the sides of the panel have been designated at 24. Kick pleats or slits may be provided in the bottom of the skirt for walking ease if desired.

For slacks, shorts, and the like a similar procedure is Patented Apr. 9, 1957,

followed. In every instance, the garment will be cornposed with a relatively non-stretchable fabric of tubular formation formed with a rectangular opening extending over the full width of the front, the sides and bottom of said opening or recess being stitched to a resiliently stretchable insert panel of rectangular formation the upper cdge of which registers with the upper edge of the back of the garment.

It will be seen that no adiustments of the insert are required, and the insert causes the garment to adjust itself to the body of the wearer through the full duration of the pregnancy. No buttons, strings, lapovers, or the like are required, and the garment can be put on cr taken ofic with maximum speed and ease.

It is to be understood that the insert may, if desired, be formed of: a fabric having inherent resiliently stretch able qualities, such as nylon, a rubberized or preclasticized material.

E t is believed apparent that the invention is not necessarily confined to the specific use or uses thereof described above, since it may be utilized for any purpose to which it may be suited. Nor is the invention to be necessarily limited to the specific construction illustrated and described, since such construction is only intended to be illustrative of the principles, it being considered that the invention compre ds any minor change in construction that may be permitted within the scope of the appended claim.

What is claimed is:

In a maternity skirt, a tubular portion having in its front a deep recess having vertical side edges extending along the opposite sides of said portion at diametrically opposite locations thereupon, and having a horizontal `,ottoni edge extending between said side edges at a distance downwardly from the upper end ot the skirt such that substantially the entire abdomen of a wearer will be bounded by the edges of the recess, so that substantially all swelling of the abdomen will occur in the area circumscribed by the recess; and a rectangular insert panel formed of a material resiliently stretchable both horizontally and vertically and filling said recess, the side and bottoni edges of said panel being stitched to the sidc and bottom edges of the recess, said panel in its fully contracted state cooperating with the adjacent areas of the tubular portion in forming a waist-encircling part on the skirt i'itting snugly about the wearers waist in the undistended condition of the abdomen, and stretching under pressure of the progressively swelling abdomen ro maintain a snug tit of the skirt about the waist without exertion of a pull upon said adjacent areas of the Vtubular portion, said tubular portion and insert panel comprising three pieces of material in which the insert canal is one piece, the remaining pieces comprising a trout skirt panel having a width substantially equal to the width of the insert panel in the contracted condition of the insert panel, and a back skirt panel having a width also substantially equal to the width of the insert panel in the contracted condition of the insert panel, the bottom edge of the insert panel being connected to the top edge of the front skirt panel over substantially the full widths of the insert and front skirt panels, with the side edges of the front skirt panel and insert panel being connected to the side edges of the back skirt panel, the vertical dimensions of the insert panel and front skirt panel being equal, when added together, to the vertical dimension of the back skirt panel.

References Cited in the tile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 662,714 Feuchtwanger Nov. 27, 1900 2,259,236 Vtellins et al Oct. 14, 1941 2,462,195 Jacobson Feb. 22, 1949 2,618,784 Root Nov. 25, 1952 2,719,974 Blatt oct. 11, 1955 

